Furniture leg glider



June 27, 1950 R. E. MILLER FURNITURE LEG GLIDER Filed April 9, 1949 INVENTOR K0RT MILLER BY 1 4rramvf/ Patented June 27, 1950 UN 1 TED STATES PATEN T O F'F ICE swan-Ewan LEGsGLIDER .msben Miller, BronxdillaLN. 1.

Application Apr-i1 9, ma smsl mesa-4'13 I -2.C,laims. '1

My present .inyention;relates generally wtorgliding attachmentsiforiurniturei less.

A general object of the invention i-is -.to 3pmvide certain improvements :in the (type ef gliding attachment for "use with :a i'urniture leg having an open tubular lower 'end. flihis \type of glider consists essentially :of a 0105111 8 vel -flats adapted to close the .leg end ,and 'provided with a margin adapted to lie beneath and [fit against the edge of the leg end, aglidingelement secured to the underside of the closure blade, :leg attaching means comprising spring arms secured to and extending upwardly-from ,the uppertside of the closure plate. When these zspri-ng arms are entered into the open tubular lower end ,of the leg, they are pressed into frictional engagement with theinterior-of the legend.

One of the more Specific objectsof the invention lies .in an improved glider upporting means whose insertion into .the leg end is facilitated and may be accomplished without calling .for the use .of any extraneous tools.

Another specific .objectcf the present invention is to provide a gliding attachment which may be satisfactorily employed with a -furniture -v leg of the type whose axis is at an oblique angle to the floor. This typeof furniture leg presents a special problem, since the gliding element must lie flat against the floor in order to be properly effective, whereas the arms of the attachment i.

strip must be capable of entering :.and-'establishing firm securement within the oblique leg end. Ilhe present improved gliding attachment is specially designed to comply with the peculiar requirements of an oblique furniture leg.

In the preferred embodiment herein described. the aforementioned two arms are made integrally from a strip by a bending operation because thereby the objectives of my invention are more fully attained.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction having the special advantages and capabilities referred to, yet capable of manufacture in economical fashion and without material deviation from the procedures involved in the manufacture of the ordinary type of gliding attachment.

I achieve the foregoing objects and advantages, and such other objects and advantages as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, in the manner illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational cross-sectional view through a tubular leg end of oblique character,

2 showing an improvedigliding .attachment'in posiiticnztherein;

i2 .is a. :cross-sectional view taken substantially :along the line :2'2 of Fig. v1;

Big. =3.,:is a transverse cross-sectional wiew taken substantially :along rthe line 3-3 .ofjiFig. 1;;

Rig. ''4 :is a transverse .crossesectional-view 'tak'en substantially along the line 14-4 of :Eig. '1

'Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 1 rs'howing :the

attachment applied to 9.- slightly different-type cfirnrnItIrre-Ie and 5F. 7 -.6fis'a-'cnoSs-sectioha1 view taken substantially along the :line -6-"6-of Fig. 15.

Fl he :fiurniture :leg which I have chosen ato illusztrateh Figs. zl-e has an :open :tubular lower'end 4-50 which is substantiallysquare ;in cross-section (see zE'igsJ3'a'nd4'). The-flower edge of .the tube lies -in "a plane parallel :to the floor H, and the axis an the (tube is at an :oblique angle ,to the floor, substantially-as shown.

.At 4.2 I have shown a square clcs-ure J'pilate forming part :cf the gliding attachment. This plate is :usuaily and preferably =.com:pcsed' -.of metal, gand-it is ,provided with "a 'margin :13 \which is adapted to lie beneath and fit against the'en'd edge of the tube :HJ. Preierably, rthe margin 13 is ofiset downwardly from the bedy .Of the plate 312, ."TSO that "the major part of the plate lies within the confines =of the furniture leg.

rsecured to the underside cf the closure plate L2, preinra-bly byimeansof a, rivet :14 vor :theilike, is a gliding element which consists of a rubber .part til-and a highly polished imetallic ,part l-6. il he rivet 2M .secures the part 15 in position beheath the body portion of the closure gplate J2, and the metallic part .16 is substantially cupsh-aped, the lower surface being fiat-and smooth and the upper :edge being "in-turned to grip the part :15, a

'Iiwo arms are secured to the -upper face of-the closure plate I2. These arms are herein dis closed as formed integrally from a strip which, in its original unbent condition, is indicated by the dot-and-dash lines I! in Fig. l. The same rivet 14 which secures the part l5 in position can be utilized to secure the strip 1! to the upper face of the plate l2. In accordance with my invention, the point of securement is at the midpoint of the strip I].

In completing the manufacture of the device, the strip I! is bent upwardly along transverse lines I8 and 19 which are unequally distant from the midpoint referred to. As will be apparent from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 4, the bend l8 lies further from the rivet l4 than the bend I9. This results in producing a substantially U-shaped attachment strip, whose arms are of unequal length, i. e., the arm 20 is somewhat shorter than the arm 2 I.

The arms 20 and 2| are bent upwardly so that the axis of the U has an obliquity which conforms to that of the leg end for which the attachment device is intended. The longer U arm, i. e., the arm 2| in the illustrated device, lies uppermost.

The distance between the bends l8 and I9 is less than that between opposite walls of the tube I0, and the arms of the U-shaped attachment, I

strip are caused to diverge upwardly, as shown.

Along transverse lines 22 and 23, the arms are bent toward each other so that the upperparts If de- 24 and 25 converge toward each other.

sired, the extreme ends of the arms may be bentx into substantially parallel relationship, as shown, Y

but this is not essential.

The bends 22 and 23 are along lines which are substantially equidistant from the free ends of the arms (hence at unequal distances from'the bends l8 and 19). As a result, elbows are-defined which press outwardly against opposite walls of the tube [0 in a plane substantially transverse to theaxis of the leg end. This establishes a firm frictional engagement between the attachment strip and the leg end.

In accordance with the present invention, the angle between the converging parts 24 and 25 of the arms (designated by the reference numeral 26 in Fig. '1) is an acute angle i. e., it is less than 90. This angularity is important because it permits the device to be inserted into the furniture leg without calling for the use of any extraneous tools. That is to say, as a result of the springiness of the arms of the U, they normally tend to assume a position farther apart than that shown in Fig. 1. When the device is inserted into the leg end, the arm portions 24 and 25 encounter opposite edge portions of the leg, and a camming action ensues, i. e., upward pressureon the attachment device causes the arms to move toward each other and ultimately assume the relationship shown in Fig. 1. This camming action is made possible by the angularity between the parts 24 and 25. v

The usefulness of the invention is not restricted to furniture legs of square or rectangular crosssection, and I have illustrated a leg of circular cross-section at 21 in Figs. 5 and 6. In this case, the gliding element 28 is secured, as before, to the under side of a closure plate 29, while a U- shaped attachment strip 36, havingjU arms 31 and 32,'is secured as at 33, to the upper face of the plate 29. The plate 29 has a margin 34 which presses upwardly against the lower edge of the tubular leg end 21. The plate 29, and the margin 34, are shaped to conform to the leg end,'i. e., they are substantially circular or slightly elliptical.

Obviously, because of the curved nature of the leg end, the arm 3| bears against the wall of the tube at the two end points 35 and 36 (see Fig. 6), while the arm 32 similarly presses outwardly at its ends 31 and 38. In other respects, however, the mode of application and of functioning of the gliding attachment is the same as that hereinbefore described in connection with Figs. 1-4.

In general, it will be understood that those skilled jinithe art may obviously make changes in the details herein described and. illustrated, without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated'its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A gliding attachment for a furniture leg having an open tubularlower end whose edge is in a plane parallel to the floor and whose axis is at an oblique angle to the floor, comprising a closure plate adapted to close said leg end and provided with a margin adapted to lie beneath and fit against said edge, a gliding element secured to the un derside of said plate, and a U-shaped attachment strip whose base is secured to the upper side of said plate and whose arms are bent transversely of the strip material to meet the base in acute angles whereby its axis has an obliquity conforming to that of said leg end, the arms of said strip extending upwardly for entry into the leg end, the lower parts of said arms being in divergent relation to each other, the upper parts being bent toward each other to define elbows between said lower and upper parts, said arms having a springiness tending to spread said elbows into frictional engagement with the interior of said leg end.

' 2. A gliding attachment for a furniture leg constructed asset forth in claim 1, wherein said elbows are formed in the arms at such unequal distances from the U-base as to effect said frictional engagement 7 in a plane substantially transverse to the said axis of said leg end.

ROBERT E. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

